…the most popular question I was asked before leaving for
Spain.
My automatic response: I’m nervous to pack!
For those of you who know me best,
that instant reply is not surprising. I can barely pack sensibly for a weekend
trip to California let alone a semester at Mizzou. How on earth was I supposed
to pack sensibly for a four month stay in a FOREIGN country?
It started out looking like this:
I began to panic. Miraculously, it all fit into two
suitcases perfectly! I was shocked! I was amazed! I was so proud of myself I
couldn’t help beaming at my success. But then my dad reminded me I had to
weigh them… Uh oh…
He took one look at my bags and laughed. “67 pounds!” he guessed.
No way, absolutely not! I guesstimated they would weigh in around 46 pounds.
Yeah…I was wrong. Three hours later, after a lot of wincing while letting go of
beloved articles of clothing, bathroom products, accessories, and shoes…my bags
totaled 50.8 and 46.9 pounds. Oh the trials and tribulations of Madison Alewel!
I finally found myself in bed at 3 am. I really don’t
understand why I always seem to stay up ridiculously late before traveling. The
fact I had a nightmare about packing didn’t help either. I have serious issues.
Before I knew it I was heading to the airport. As I sat in
the car, my nervousness about packing gone, it suddenly hit me: I’m leaving.
I’m going to spend the next four months in Barcelona. I’m going to be
9(Vegas)/7(Mizzou) hours ahead of all the people I love. They will no longer be
just a phone call away…more like $1.37 a minute. Thank you AT&T. Oh. My.
Gosh. Cue the waterworks.
After hugging my parents goodbye at the entrance to the D
gates, I was the girl awkwardly crying while going through security. Ha…ha…It
happens.
I am currently sitting in the Salt Lake City airport
awaiting my plane to Paris. One traveling hour down, 17 to go!
